Nesarian Language
Nesarian Language See also: Nesarian Names Nesarian is an Elvic language spoken in Nesaria, and it used as a lingua franca for the other countries within the Empire (teaching at least basic Nesarian as a second language is mandatory throughout the Empire). Until the advent of the printing press, Nesarian was written in an extremely complicated system of runes that few could understand. The latin alphabet was found to work well with the language and fitted in much better with the printing press, and the latin alphabet eventually supplanted Nesarian Runes by 1500 - today less than 0.1% of the population of Nesaria is fluent in Nesarian Runes. Although grammar is rigid, Nesarian sounds are conflicting and follow few rules given that it is the combination of the Elvic Eshérian language and the native Nesarian language of Ascaria and Wallshire (known as Wallian, or Cafanian in Nesarian, which is now utterly lost). Some words are directly taken from the native form, such as "Marn" (meaning "Start"), some are "Elvicised" versions of native words such as "Szimas" (meaning "Beast"), and some - predominantly relating to concepts or things that did not exist in pre-Elvic Nesaria - are of entirely Elvic origin, such as "Regatuxinos" (meaning "Empire"). Over time, words (which can become quite long in Nesarian) were often dramatically shortened, but a campaign in the late 1700s restored traditional spellings. This was not enough to stop many words "collapsing" into shortened or more easily pronounceable forms, as the great number of syllables made many words awkward to say. This has resulted in the more common words often not following the correct rules for suffixes. This new form of the language was standardised (for good) in the late 1800s, becoming Modern Nesarian. Despite the significant changes in the sounds and spellings of words, the grammar has remained largely unchanged since its ancient original form. Nesarian grammar is essentially identical to English grammar, making it a fairly popular second language in the Anglophone world. English is also a common second or third language within the Nesarian Empire. Due to the historical influence of the Nesarian Empire, Nesarian is also commonly learned as a second or third language in the ex-Empire states as well as Greece and Russia. Nesarian words often have alternating vowels and consonants which tends to create many syllables, and as such pronouncing it and speaking it fluently in conversation is often difficult and awkward for foreigners. The large number of syllables with differing sounds means that most Nesarian speakers have trained themselves to speak very quickly, which makes listening difficult for learners as whole sentences often blur together to sound like a single word. Pronunciation Several letters are pronounced differently to how they are normally pronounced in English or other languages that use the latin script. The pronunciation varies slightly based on regional accents, but listed below is the "Standard Ascarian" pronunciation. * The letter "c" is pronounced as a hard "k". * The letter "q" is pronounced as a hard "k". * The letter "i" is pronounced as a long "ee". * The letter "t" is pronounced as a hard "t" regardless of the letters around it. * The letter "g" is pronounced as a hard "g". * The letter "u" is pronounced as a long "oo". * The rare letter "é" is pronounced "ay". * The combination "ér" is pronounced "air". * The combination "eo" is pronounced "ayo". * The combination "ae" is pronounced "ai" or "aye", but in rare circumstances can be pronounced "ay". * The combination "ea" is pronounced "aya" or "aea". * The combination "sz" is pronounced "zh" (as in the "s" in "pleasure"). * The combination "ir" is pronounced "ear". * The combination "ire" is pronounced "ee-ray" at the end of a word and "ee-reh" anywhere else. * The combination "es" is pronounced "ez" if it is at the end of a word, but "es" anywhere else. In between words that do not naturally flow into each other (such as "Isus Crist", meaning "Jesus Christ"), a transitionary sound is normally added in between, although those wishing to speak more formally will usually miss this out. This makes "Isus Crist" a bad example as this is always pronounced formally by Christians. This varies between dialects, but in Standard Ascarian it is not pronounced and makes a quiet "schwa" (ə) sound, which is roughly equivalent to an unstressed "a" in English. In some Southern dialects, however, it can be a more noticeable "u" or "oo" sound. Q The letter Q is included in Nesarian, despite the fact that it is pronounced identically to C (both make a hard "k" sound). This is because, when the language transitioned from Nesarian Runes to the latin alphabet, Q was pronounced differently. It is pronounced in the other Elvic languages (and used to be pronounced in Nesarian) as a voiceless velar fricative, or "X" on the IPA chart. This is the noise the "ch" makes in the Scottish word "loch". It retains its old pronunciation in the other Elvic languages, but in Nesarian it changed and became a harder and shorter noise over time until it matched C by the turn of the 20th century. There have been calls to remove the Q from the Nesarian alphabet, however changing the alphabet and re-educating the population on the words that use the Q is usually deemed more trouble than it is worth, and some Southern dialects still retain the old pronunciation of Q. "The" and "Is" Nesarian does have a world equivalent to "the", which is "ino", although it is not used unless it is essential for distinguishing context. "Hail the Emperor" becomes "Ceo Regatux" and not "Ceo ino Regatux", because the Emperor is obvious, however a Nesarian would say "the state" ("Ino Esanos") to distinguish from "a state" ("Asc Esanos"), i.e. to refer to one particular thing rather than the whole group of things. Similarly, "is" as a word exists (being "eno"), but is generally not used unless it is essential for either distinguishing context or strengthening implication. For example, you would say "Otu vutos camala" (literally "This land honey") rather than "Otu vutos eno camala" (literally "This land is honey"), but you would say "Niya eno cavacus!" ("He is dying!") when trying to convince someone who believes that "Niya ros cavacus" ("He is not dying"). Suffixes Here is a list of all the suffixes that can modify the meaning of a word in Nesarian. The second suffix will be the version of the suffix that you add if the word ends in a vowel or a soft consonant such as "r". An "ae" at the end of a word becomes "a" when adding a suffix unless the original word is just one syllable that ends in "ae". These are the suffixes: * "E" / "Te" makes a singular noun into a plural noun. "River" ("Sacalifae") becomes "Rivers" ("Sacalifate"). * "Eros" / "Teros" makes a noun into an adjective. "Death" ("Cavac") becomes "Dead" ("Cavaceros"). In many cases, if a word ends in a vowel this is removed and replaced with "eros", although not always. In some cases the entirety of the final syllable can be removed. * "Ovos" / "Vos" makes a noun into a verb. "Colony" ("Cratae") becomes "Colonise" ("Cratavos"). When added to a word that ends in a consonant after a vowel, it is removed and replaced with "vos". Many words did originally have this suffix added correctly but have been shortened over time, for example "lose" was shortened from "fitovos" to "fitos". * "Olis" / "Lis" makes a noun into an adverb. "Weakness" ("Pixas") becomes "Weakly" ("Pixalis"). When the word ends in "s", it is removed and replaced with "lis". * "Ca" makes an adjective into a comparative adjective. This is added onto the "eros" that turns a word into an adjective. "Sweet" ("Cameros") becomes "Sweeter" ("Camerosca"). * "Ci" makes an adjective into a superlative adjective. This is added onto the "eros" that turns a word into an adjective. "Sweet" ("Cameros") becomes "Sweetest" ("Camerosci"). * "I" is added to a present tense verb to make it into a past tense verb. "Stop" ("Canos") becomes "Stopped" ("Canosi"). * "A" is added to a present tense verb to make it into a future tense verb. "Stop" ("Canos") becomes "Will Stop" ("Canosa"). * "Ivus" / "Tivus" makes a present tense word into a present participle word. Note that if a verb is being turned into its present participle form, you drop the verb suffix ("Ovos" / "Vos"), so "Hiking" ("Dranoxivus") comes from the noun "Hiker" ("Dranox") and not the verb "Hike" ("Dranoxovos"). ** This is often shortened to simply "us" in the more common words, for example "Dying" is "Cavacus" and not "Cavacivus". * "Ae" makes a place name into a demonym. The "An" becomes "N" if the word already ends in an "a". "Germany" ("Davutos") becomes "German" ("Davutosae"), and "England" ("Anglia") becomes "English" ("Angliae"). * "Es" / "Tes" turns a noun into its possessive form. If you wanted to say that something belongs to Rotis, in English you would say it is Rotis', and in Nesarian you would say it is "Rotises". Some words do not follow these rules, for example the word "Holy", which is "Ticae". According to the suffix rules it should be "Ticateros" or something similar because it is an adjective, but this word does not follow the suffix rules. This is left over from a version of Nesarian which had more complex grammatical cases. Another example is "Use", which is the same in its noun and verb forms ("Vos"). Note that past participles do not exist in Nesarian. To turn a verb into a past participle, you simply use the past tense version of the verb. Third person present (e.g. "he runs" or "she eats") also do not exist, you simply use the standard form of the verb ("he run" and "she eat"). Traditions Idioms * "Yaca vi evex" - "Son of light" - This phrase used to be literal, meaning a paragon of virtue, however in about the 15th century its meaning became sarcastic, and it now refers to someone with few redeeming qualities who indulges in degenerate and amoral behaviour. For example, drug dealers could be referred to as "yacate vi evex", or "sons of light". * "Manitosi isa lasza" - "Born in purple" - Used to describe someone who has been spoilt from birth and who is arrogant and childish as a result. Purple used to be a very rare and extremely expensive dye, only available to the very rich, so someone “born in purple” is someone born to extreme wealth, and such people are typically spoilt by their parents. The equivalent phrase in English would be “born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth”, although the Nesarian phrase “born in purple” is used more specifically to refer to someone who has a bad character as a result of being spoilt, whereas the English phrase just refers to a spoilt rich person. * "Fitosi isio vana" - "Lost in the sauce" - Used to describe something that has been lost as a result of other information being piled on top of it. The phrase originated from the idea that the flavour of a food could be lost by drowning it in sauce, and that the flavour of the sauce overpowers the flavour of the food. A similar English idiom would be “a needle in a haystack”. If something has been “lost in the sauce”, then it has become the needle in the haystack. * "Crivae eno cravosi" - "Everything is buttered" - Used to describe a situation where everything is running efficiently and smoothly and where there are no problems to slow things down. This comes from the idea that a buttered object becomes smooth and slippery. Proverbs * "Otu vutos camala, taqara vutos latire camerosca" - "This land is honey, but my own land is even sweeter" - Fairly self-explanatory, used to describe a place that you really love but is not as great as home. Common Phrases * "Ceo Marati!" - "Hail Victory!" - A common phrase which fell out of use in the 9th century and was revived in the late 18th century, and especially emphasised during the reign of Emperor Adrion I. It is similar to the German phrase “Sieg Heil!". Its meaning is not unlike saying “good luck”; a declaration of hope for victory, both for yourself and to the person/people you are saying it to. In the armed forces, this usually refers to military victory (it also used to refer solely to military victory before the rebirth of the phrase in the 18th century), but in other situations, “victory” refers to generally being successful. It is commonly said at the end of speeches and formal meetings, and members of the armed forces say it whenever they salute, apart from in sombre occasions where silence is appropriate, such as funerals or Peace Day. The phrase is rarely said in informal situations. It was historically used as a battle-cry. * "Ceo Regatux!" - "Hail the Emperor!" - Used in military circles in conjunction with "Ceo Marati" (a phrase that is often said is "Ceo Marati, Ceo Regatux!", meaning "Hail Victory, Hail the Emperor!"), and typically by the crowd when the Emperor gives a public speech. It is also mandatory to say this when saluting the Emperor. It is commonly used as a battle-cry. * "Croneros Yacone" - "Noble Men" - Not to be confused with noblemen, this phrase is used in formal situations - normally speeches - when speaking to large groups of people. Although the literal translation is “noble men”, it can be just as easily used when talking to a mixed gender group, or a group made up entirely of women, because in Nesarian, “man" can mean "person" depending on the context. The literal translation is “noble men”, but a more understandable translation is “noble ones”. This is said to a large group of people you are speaking respectfully to - not necessarily superiors. * "Ceo Retux Crist, yaca vi Astacae!" - "Hail King Christ, son of God!" - A traditional greeting used by Nesarian Christians that was historically used to identify each other. It is still often said at gatherings of Christians. Note that in Nesarian, the title of "King Christ" is the equivalent of "Christ the King". Vulgarisms The Nesarian language has a variety of slurs and insults, which are often long due to the fact that they are numerous words compounded together. Be warned that this section has colourful language. * "Yacristela" - A shortened form of "Yacisocristela" which is a shortened form of "Yacon icos sevos Cristes ela" which translates to "One who sucks Christ's dick" (note that "yacon", which translates to man, can also be used as a gender neutral term, i.e. "one"). Unsurprisingly, this is a slur aimed at Christians. * "Szicist" - Translates to "black beast" which is a slur for black people. It is important to note that historically, since the Nesarian Empire had no African population and only a tiny community of African migrants, there was little prejudice against black people and the term "szicist" was/is usually applied as lighthearted banter. It is sometimes described as the Nesarian equivalent of "n*gger" (this word is not allowed on wikia/fandom so it is censored) but "szicist" does not have the same historical connotations and is usually not found terribly offensive by Africans since the word was mostly a joke in the first place. A small detachment of African and African-American soldiers during WW2 was ironically nicknamed the "Sziciste", a name the soldiers chose themselves, as it was thought the name would intimidate the (American) enemy. For this reason, "szicist" as well as being an insult can also be a term of respect for African soldiers that are especially brave. * "Szelena" - Translates to "sand dweller" which is traditionally a slur for those from the Western Desert and Arabs, but can be loosely applied to anyone who lives in a desert. * "Centeres" - Translates to "green skin" which is a slur for Orcs. * "Drayacos" - Loosely translates as "faggot". As well as being a slur for homosexuals, this is commonly applied to male Elves because of their feminine appearance. * "Vacosamos" - Translates to "horse fucker" which is traditionally a slur for Estemorians, but can be loosely applied to anyone who lives in the steppe and/or comes from a nation with a strong horse culture.